Foundations of SP Methodology Part I: Constructing Your SP Community

The first session of the Foundations series focuses primarily on the actual SPs: how to recruit, then screen, then onboard, then retain them; as well as how to train them. It is intended to give SPEs foundational education in working with SPs at their home institutions.
This workshop is intended to provide novice SP Educators (SPE) the tools to implement a successful SP program, which starts with having an excellent roster of well-trained SPs. More experienced SPEs may benefit as well by gaining a deeper understanding of SP methodology and how it applies to individual practice. 

Foundations of SP Methodology will be led by experts from the ASPE Curriculum Development and Advancement Committee (CDAC). Participants explore the methodology that defines the rapidly expanding contribution of SPs to the field of simulation-based education. Content will connect extensively to the ASPE SOBP  and aligns with ASPE Modules presented through the Center for SP Methodology, which would be beneficial for attendees to access prior to attending this workshop. The presenters include several published thought leaders in SP Methodology as well as innovators of new approaches in SP Methodology.

Research I: Basics of Scholarship

This Basics of Scholarship workshop is an immersive course providing foundational research skills to support SP educators in transforming their daily work into scholarship.

Building research design into daily work enables SP educators to examine and disseminate the innovative approaches they use routinely. Sharing this research advances the field of SP methodology and education.

GTA-MUTA Special Interest Group (SIG)

ASPE’s GTA-MUTA SOBP delineate the associated principles, practices, and values to guide GTA-MUTA programs and learning encounters. The purpose of this workshop is to provide attendees the opportunity to learn, share, and apply ASPE’s GTA-MUTA SOBP via case studies and experience a hands-on GTA and / or MUTA encounter as would a learner, should they so choose.

Following participation in this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Identify the Domains, Principles and Practices of ASPE’s GTA-MUTA SOBP.
  • Apply ASPE’s GTA-MUTA SOBP to different scenarios.
  • Determine applications to their own home program or institution.
  • Apply the clinical and communication skills necessary to conduct:
       - pelvic and/or breast exams for female anatomy (GTAs)
       - genital / rectal exams for male anatomy (MUTAs)

Foundations of SP Methodology Part II: SP Methodology in Action 

The second session of Foundations will introduce tools and strategies for building and developing the programming of SP programs. This session begins with case development, aligning with learning objectives and ASPE Standards of Best Practice (SOBP). The session then explores the role of assessment and how to set up programming to meet assessment needs. Finally, this session discusses the role of SP Training for successful programming. This portion of the workshop identifies training methods, training strategies for case portrayal, and training SPs to use assessment tools.

The session is intended to give novice SP Educators (SPEs) foundational education in methods of developing cases, assessing their learners, and ensuring fairness and efficacy. Experienced SPEs may benefit by gaining a deeper understanding of SP methodology and how it applies to individual practice.

Foundations of SP Methodology will be led by experts from the ASPE Curriculum Development and Advancement Committee (CDAC). Participants explore the methodology that defines the rapidly expanding contribution of SPs to the field of simulation-based education. Content will connect extensively to the ASPE SOBP and aligns with ASPE Modules presented through the Center for SP Methodology, which would be beneficial for attendees to access prior to attending this workshop. The presenters include several published thought leaders in SP Methodology as well as innovators of new approaches in SP Methodology.

Research II: Foundations of Quantitative and Qualitative Methods

This workshop supports participants with basic knowledge/skills for quantitative and qualitative research methods. This is critical, as SP Educators must consider scholarly dissemination as part of project design and implementation. The first half of this workshop defines quantitative research principles of reliability and validity, reviews examples of validity evidence, and applies these concepts in the context of SP methodology. As multiple validity frameworks are available, clarification is needed so that SP Educators can be discerning as they develop and evaluate the quality of their assessments. The second half of this workshop explores basic qualitative research principles including crafting research questions, interviewing, focus groups, participant observation, coding, and more. Qualitative methods are most useful for answering open-ended research questions that consider how and why certain phenomenon exist in the world around us. Participants will receive qualitative study examples related to healthcare education as they consider applications to their own simulation work.

Foundations of SP Methodology Part III: Building Program Infrastructure

The third and final session of the Foundations series will provide participants the opportunity to develop tools and strategies for managing their SP program on a macro level. This session will cover leadership concepts, strategic management of a SP program, policy and procedure, information and communication management for a SP program, and advances in SP management, including working with diverse groups of people to ensure successful program administration. 

The session is intended to give new program directors or program builders foundational education in leading a human simulation program. All SP Educators (SPEs) may benefit as well by gaining a deeper understanding of SP methodology and how it applies to individual practice.

Foundations of SP Methodology will be led by experts from the ASPE Curriculum Development and Advancement Committee (CDAC). Participants explore the methodology that defines the rapidly expanding contribution of SPs to the field of simulation-based education. Content will connect extensively to the ASPE SOBP3 and aligns with ASPE Modules presented through the Center for SP Methodology, which would be beneficial for attendees to access prior to attending this workshop. The presenters include several published thought leaders in SP Methodology as well as innovators of new approaches in SP Methodology.

Research III: Focus Group Methods

Focus groups are a useful qualitative method for simulation educators seeking to turn their daily work into scholarship that reflects the voices of many participating stakeholders. Focus groups are a valued method, either on their own or in conjunction with others, for exploring issues, explaining social phenomena, and deepening our understanding about how people make meaning from their experiences. For this reason, they are an increasingly popular method within Healthcare Simulation for exploring a range of topics including quality assurance and safety within simulation design, clinical skills learning, SP recruitment, training, scenario development and briefing and debriefing.

This workshop will explore focus group method as one of many approaches within qualitative research with the goal of helping new researchers understand and integrate best practices.

INACSL Affiliate Presentation: Inclusion of the Healthcare Simulation Standards of Best Practice(TM) in Simulation Development

The Healthcare Simulation Standards of Best PracticeTM advance the science of simulation, share best practices, and provide evidence-based guidelines to make the simulation-based learning experience consistent around the globe. Informed by both interprofessional and international perspectives, the Standards are a living document applicable to simulation in both academic and practice settings and across manikin, Standardized Patient actor, and distance modalities. Since 2011, the Standards have been translated into French, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, Chinese, and Polish, and they underpin simulation professional development and endorsement programs offered worldwide by the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning. The Standards are updated every four years in consultation with a healthcare librarian and in response to a needs assessment, environmental scan, and comprehensive literature review. An expert advisory panel, representing a diverse range of simulation experts and healthcare organizations, provides evaluation and makes recommendations for enhancing the Standards. This presentation will provide an overview of the ten Healthcare Simulation Standards of Best PracticeTM and describe opportunities for application in the areas of writing outcomes and objectives, prebriefing, facilitation, debriefing, simulation design, operations, professional development, professional integrity, simulation-enhanced interprofessional education, and evaluation of learning and performance. We will highlight exemplars from academic and practice settings who have operationalized the Standards successfully and discuss a stepwise approach to using the Standards to improve simulation quality.

HELP! I Need Somebody! - Meaningful Metrics for Growing Your Program

Simulation program leaders often struggle to articulate the need for additional staffing due to a lack of established metrics for calculating productivity capacity. The often-used benchmarking tool that reports the quantity of ‘education hours delivered’ does not capture the wide range of development and evaluation work that is necessary for any given course or training. Program leaders also have an obligation to articulate resource utilization and needs to a variety of stakeholders. The presenters have worked together with leaders of multiple simulation programs to define, develop and implement a successful process which quantifies staff productivity capacity through data collection, analysis, insight, and effective story-telling. This shared model provides relevant data to accurately provide quantifiable justification for staffing growth.

Participants will be introduced to the staffing capacity analysis tool and have the opportunity to customize it using their staffing in order to quantify and target program capacity more effectively. Discussion of data collection, identification of key metrics, and translation of the data to compelling stories will be included. The shared model of staffing capacity gives programs relevant data to benchmark staffing accurately, providing quantifiable justification for program growth. Participants will also gain access to other known simulation programs using similar methodology for further benchmarking collaboration in the industry.

SimGhost Affiliate: Introduction to Molding for Wearable Prosthetics

This course will review the basic principles of silicone molding and casting and allow participants to see the initial technique and process for the creation of silicone parts for use in simulation. Two-part silicone casting material will be used in a hands-on activity to make reusable and standardized wounds.

1. Describe the uses of DIY silicone molding and casting in simulation.
2. Demonstrate how to design a casting positive and negative with clay or other materials.
3. Apply the techniques to pour a silicone mold using a two part silicone.

Managing SP Burnout - Causes, Signs, Symptoms and Solutions

Burnout is defined as “a prolonged response to chronic interpersonal stressors on the job [leading to] overwhelming exhaustion, feelings of cynicism and detachment, a sense of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment.” Research on burnout has been done for decades. SP work is intellectually and emotionally challenging, in addition, their role in healthcare profession education is not always clearly understood or appropriately valued. All this can create chronic interpersonal stressors that can lead to burnout.

Burnout decreases the quality of case portrayal, ratings and feedback. SP educators need to understand the individual and systemic contributing factors, and recognize the signs and symptoms SPs display when they reach a burnout level. Finally, as highlighted by the ASPE Standards of Best Practice, working with SPs comes with a responsibility to alleviate or eliminate the negative effects of SP burnout on themselves, the learners, and the program. This Pre-Conference Workshop will engage participants to build on past experiences, gain new skills for managing SP stress, and develop new strategies for building and maintaining SP programs.